11 November (Saturday)
8 a.m.
In Eberswalder Strasse in the north of Berlin, a new border crossing is opened. Later in the day, yet another new crossing is added on Schlesische Strasse/Puschkinallee between the Berlin districts of Treptow and Kreuzberg.
On this Saturday, more than a million East Berliners and residents from the surrounding area pour into West Berlin. Traffic on the roads comes to a standstill and in the city centre, on the Kurfürstendamm and the Tauentzien, even pedestrian traffic is impeded. Long queues form outside banks paying out the 100 D-marks in “welcome money". In the shops that accept GDR marks, the exchange rate is mostly 10 to 1; the average monthly wage of a GDR citizen shrinks to less than 100 D-marks in the West.
The Trabant cars roll over the German-German border crossings towards the West in kilometre-long lines; the inter-zone trains are booked out up to four times over. Almost no one notices that the situation at the Brandenburg Gate in the early morning is threatening to escalate. After hours of hammering and chiselling, the attempt to remove the segment of the Wall bordering on the anti-tank wall to the south, tearing the first breach, is nearing success.
A letter written by an officer cadet to his family shows the emotional turmoil that the young soldiers who have sworn to “protect the state border of the GDR" go through from 9 to 11 November at the Brandenburg Gate.
9.00 a.m.
In Bonn, the West German government convenes a special sitting; Chancellor Kohl telephones now and then with the French president, François Mitterand. – At the same time in East Berlin, a special Party committee from the Ministry for Security begins a meeting; the special Party committee for the army gathers in Strausberg, near Berlin, the location of the GDR Defence Ministry. During this meeting, Defence Minister Kessler is handed information about the demolition action at the Brandenburg Gate; it suggests that the Gate is about to be stormed.
10 a.m.
Defence Minister Kessler rings up the head of the land forces, Colonel General Horst Stechbarth. Stechbarth hears his minister ask him if he is prepared to march to Berlin with two regiments to clear the Wall at the Brandenburg Gate. Stechbarth points out that the consequences of moving troops to Berlin in the present situation cannot be foreseen, and asks the minister to reassess the situation as to whether another course is possible.
10.13 – 10.22 a.m.
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl telephones with SED General Secretary Egon Krenz. Krenz is of the opinion that the “concessions" made by the GDR have created a “good atmosphere" for solving problems in the economic area and with regard to travel. “We cannot solve these matters on our own," he admits. The West German Chancellor welcomes the opening of the border, but reacts cautiously to Krenz’s wishes.
12.00 midday
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl assures the General Secretary of the CPSU, Mikhail Gorbachev, by telephone that he does not want any destabilisation of the GDR. Horst Teltschik, an adviser to the Chancellor, recorded Gorbachev’s reaction in his diary as follows. “No threats, no warning, just the request to remain prudent. Now I am at last sure that there will be no violent turning back." The relationship of trust that Chancellor Kohl has built up in the past months especially to Mikhail Gorbachev and George Bush is paying off.
Between 12 midday and 1 p.m.
In the meantime, the situation at the Brandenburg Gate has calmed down: border soldiers have cleared the Wall of people without force and taken it over themselves; West German police seal off the access routes to the Wall area with vans. The “increased battle readiness" of the People’s Army units is cancelled. The danger of military intervention is over.
2 p.m.
The West Berlin chief of police, Georg Schertz, and the deputy commander of the “Grenzkommando Mitte" (Central Border Command) meet at Checkpoint Charlie. Günter Leo thanks Schertz for the “calm, but determined and vigorous action" by the West German police that morning, which led to “a de-escalation of the difficult situation there". They agree to set up a direct line between them – it has been broken off for decades.
2.30 p.m.
After the all-clear for the National People’s Army, the Ministry for State Security also returns to the routine it had before 9 November. At 2.30 p.m. deputy Stasi minister Rudolf Mittig revokes the obligation to be in constant attendance and ready for action that Erich Mielke had imposed on all ministry workers the day before.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, Berlin is threatening to burst at the seams. The mayor, Walter Momper, feels that Bonn has left him alone to deal with the hordes of visitors and criticises the West German government at a press conference. He says the Chancellor has not understood what is happening in the GDR and that he has not realised that the people in the GDR are not interested in reunification. He goes on to say that the newly won identity of the GDR citizens may not suit Kohl, but that it is reality. Momper also criticises the fact that the West German Chancellor does not intend to meet with Krenz for the time being, meaning that 30 days would go by without any practical steps being taken.
In November, 133,429 GDR citizens manage to flee to the West
